Why you never liked coding and how that can change

Ever looked at a computer program in school/college and felt “I am not good at this”? Join the club. That’s how I felt when I saw C/C++ in high school. To most of us who took CS in school, Computer Science was taught by teaching the syntax of C or C++. We were also conveniently handed a list of important “theory” questions that would be asked in the exam. This should have set someone’s alarm bell ringing, but nothing happened as usual.

The biggest problem with teaching programming C/C++ was that, not only were the languages harder to pick up, but also there was nothing you could build that felt useful.

This made sure that no one got past the syntax and actually learned to write programs and have fun in the process. For most people programming in school meant memorizing programs for practical exams and vomiting them, end of story.

Programming is fun again!

Down the road, my story thankfully took a turn for the better as I discovered the power and flexibility of dynamic languages such as JavaScript and programming was finally fun again. Languages such as JavaScript are very beginner friendly and help you focus on the problem to be solved and not worry about arcane syntax details. They let you build stuff for the mobile and web, this leads to a feedback loop where you can show your app/website to users and get feedback.

I wrote a few small programs for fun, and the thrill I got from them was nothing compared to memorizing and typing out code. The code I wrote was an artifact of my creation, however small it was.

I finally discovered the best way to learn programming was by writing code and reading code. I also realized that by reading about arcane syntax or about the seven datatypes available in Java because it was an important 2 mark question, I was gaining nothing long term.

The Future is software

We all know that technology is slowly eating the world and disrupting industry’s paradigms. Programming skills will be crucial for the next few decades, as more technology jobs are created. The core skill required to build companies or be a part of them is coding. If you want to build the next Redbus/Zomato/PayTM, then you better get coding!

Kicked about joining the first immersive boot camp team in India

I kept an eye out for hubs that impart programming knowledge as it should be, in a fun practical-oriented way. Hubs that make you build apps/websites and ensure your computing fundamentals are strong so that the base for picking up new technology is set. While I knew of such international boot camps, I hoped to find one that taught programming similarly in India. My decision to enroll as an intern at Ace Hacker is a step towards my conviction in such a learning process. The three immersive months of coding for 11 hours a day, building websites/ apps will change a student’s approach towards programming and building software. I also think students will start seeing programming in a new light. Coding can be a lot of fun, learning it the right way makes all the difference.